even stipulated 20 protective orders require good cause showing
How later courts described this case
- even stipulated 20 protective orders require good cause showing
Written by the judges who cited it.
The opinion
1 BUCHALTER
A Professional Corporation
2 ANDREW H. SELESNICK (SBN: 160516)
aselesnick@buchalter.com
3 THOMAS C. RICKEMAN (SBN: 288248)
trickeman@buchalter.com
4 1000 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 1500
Los Angeles, CA 90017-1730
5 Telephone: (213) 891-0700
Facsimile: (213) 896-0400
6
Attorneys for Plaintiff
7 AVANGUARD SURGERY CENTER, LLC
8
COURTNEY C. HILL (SBN: 210143)
9 cchill@grsm.com
NORVIK AZARIAN (SBN: 325315)
10 nazarian@grsm.com
GORDON REES SCULLY MANSUKHANI, LLP
11 633 West Fifth Street, 52nd Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90071
12 Telephone: (213) 576-5000
Facsimile: (213) 680-4470
13
Attorneys for Defendant
14 CIGNA HEALTH AND LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY
15
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
16
CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
17
18 AVANGUARD SURGERY
CENTER, LLC, a California Limited Case No. 2:20-cv-03405-ODW
19 Liability Company (RAOx)
20 Plaintiff,
STIPULATED PROTECTIVE
21 v. ORDER1
22 CIGNA HEALTHCARE OF
CALIFORNIA, INC., a California [DISCOVERY MATTER]
23 Corporation; CIGNA HEALTH AND
LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, a
24 Connecticut Corporation; and DOES
1 through 50, inclusive
25
Defendants.
26
27
1 This Stipulated Protective Order is substantially based on the model protective
28
1
2 1. A. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS
3 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential,
4 proprietary or private information for which special protection from public
5 disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may
6 be warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to
7 enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this
8 Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to
9 discovery and that the protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends
10 only to the limited information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment
11 under the applicable legal principles.
12
13 B. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT
14 This action is likely to involve confidential, private and/or proprietary
15 information for which special protection from public disclosure and from use for
16 any purpose other than prosecution of this action is warranted. Such confidential,
17 private, and proprietary materials and information consist of, among other things,
18 confidential business or financial information, information regarding confidential
19 business practices, other commercially competitive information, protected health
20 information including details regarding medical treatment and health information,
21 information otherwise generally unavailable to the public, or which may be
22 privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure under state or federal statutes,
23 court rules, case decisions, or common law. Accordingly, to expedite the flow of
24 information, to facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over confidentiality of
25 discovery materials, to adequately protect information the parties are entitled to
26 keep confidential, to ensure that the parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses
27 of such material in preparation for and in the conduct of trial, to address their
28 handling at the end of the litigation, and serve the ends of justice, a protective order
1 for such information is justified in this matter. It is the intent of the parties that
2 information will not be designated as confidential for tactical reasons and that
3 nothing be so designated without a good faith belief that it has been maintained in
4 a confidential, non-public manner, and there is good cause why it should not be
5 part of the public record of this case.
6
7 C. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF PROCEDURE FOR FILING UNDER
8 SEAL
9 The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this
10 Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information
11 under seal; Local Civil Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed
12 and the standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court
13 to file material under seal.
14 There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access to judicial
15 proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-dispositive
16 motions, good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See Kamakana
17 v. City and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006); Phillips v.
18 Gen. Motors Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002); Makar-Welbon v.
19 Sony Electrics, Inc., 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated
20 protective orders require good cause showing), and a specific showing of good
21 cause or compelling reasons with proper evidentiary support and legal justification,
22 must be made with respect to Protected Material that a party seeks to file under
23 seal. The parties’ mere designation of Disclosure or Discovery Material as
24 CONFIDENTIAL does not—without the submission of competent evidence by
25 declaration, establishing that the material sought to be filed under seal qualifies as
26 confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable—constitute good cause.
27 Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial,
28 then compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown, and
1 the relief sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be
2 protected. See Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n, 605 F.3d 665, 677-79 (9th Cir.
3 2010). For each item or type of information, document, or thing sought to be filed
4 or introduced under seal in connection with a dispositive motion or trial, the party
5 seeking protection must articulate compelling reasons, supported by specific facts
6 and legal justification, for the requested sealing order. Again, competent evidence
7 supporting the application to file documents under seal must be provided by
8 declaration.
9 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable
10 in its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be
11 redacted. If documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public
12 viewing, omitting only the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable
13 portions of the document shall be filed. Any application that seeks to file
14 documents under seal in their entirety should include an explanation of why
15 redaction is not feasible.
16
17 2. DEFINITIONS
18 2.1 Action: the instant federal action titled Avanguard Surgery Center,
19 LLC v. Cigna Healthcare of California, Inc., et al., U.S.D.C. Case No. 2:20-cv-
20 03405-ODW (RAOx).
21 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the
22 designation of information or items under this Order.
23 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of
24 how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for
25 protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in
26 the Good Cause Statement.
27 CONFIDENTIAL Information or Items shall also mean information
28 supplied in any form, or any portion thereof, that identifies an individual or
1 subscriber in any manner and relates to the past, present, or future care, services, or
2 supplies relating to the physical or mental health or condition of such individual or
3 subscriber, the provision of health care to such individual or subscriber, or the past,
4 present, or future payment for the provision of health care to such individual or
5 subscriber. CONFIDENTIAL Information or Items shall include, but is not limited
6 to, claim data, claim forms, grievances, appeals, or other documents or records that
7 contain any patient health information required to be kept confidential under any
8 state or federal law, including 45 C.F.R. Parts 160 and 164 promulgated pursuant
9 to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (see 45 C.F.R.
10 §§ 164.501 & 160.103), and the following subscriber, patient, or member
11 identifiers:
12 a. names;
13 b. all geographic subdivisions smaller than a State, including street
14 address, city, county, precinct, and zip code;
15 c. all elements of dates (except year) for dates directly related to an
16 individual, including birth date, admission date, discharge date, age,
17 and date of death;
18 d. telephone numbers;
19 e. fax numbers;
20 f. electronic mail addresses;
21 g. social security numbers;
22 h. medical record numbers;
23 i. health plan beneficiary numbers;
24 j. account numbers;
25 k. certificate/license numbers;
26 l. vehicle identifiers and serial numbers, including license plate numbers;
27 m. device identifiers and serial numbers;
28 n. web universal resource locators (“URLs”);
1 o. internet protocol (“IP”) address numbers;
2 p. biometric identifiers, including finger and voice prints;
3 q. full face photographic images and any comparable images; and/or any
4 other unique identifying number, characteristic, or code.
5 2.4 “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – Attorneys’ Eyes Only” Information or
6 Items: extremely sensitive CONFIDENTIAL Information or Items designated as
7 “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” by the producing
8 party and disclosure of which to another Party or Non-Party would create a
9 substantial risk of serious harm that could not be avoided by less restrictive means.
10 The designation HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY may
11 be used only for the following types of past, current, or future confidential
12 information: (1) sensitive technical information, including current research,
13 development and manufacturing information and patent prosecution information,
14 (2) sensitive business information, including highly sensitive financial or
15 marketing information and the identity of suppliers, distributors and potential or
16 actual customers, (3) competitive technical information, including technical
17 analyses or comparisons of competitor’s products, (4) competitive business
18 information, including non-public financial or marketing analyses or comparisons
19 of competitor’s products and strategic product planning, or (5) any other protected
20 information the disclosure of which to non-qualified people subject to this
21 Standard Protective Order the producing party reasonably and in good faith
22 believes would likely cause harm.
23 2.5 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as
24 their support staff).
25 2.6 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information
26 or items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as
27 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – Attorneys’ Eyes Only.”
28 2.7 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless
1 of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including,
2 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things) that are produced
3 or generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter.
4 2.8 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a
5 matter pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to
6 serve as an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.
7 2.9 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this
8 Action. House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other
9 outside counsel.
10 2.10 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association
11 or other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.
12 2.11 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a
13 party to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action
14 and have appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law
15 firm that has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff.
16 2.12 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,
17 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their
18 support staffs).
19 2.13 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or
20 Discovery Material in this Action.
21 2.14 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation
22 support services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or
23 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium)
24 and their employees and subcontractors.
25 2.15 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is
26 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – Attorneys’
27 Eyes Only.”
28 2.16 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery
1 Material from a Producing Party.
2
3 3. SCOPE
4 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only
5 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or
6 extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or
7 compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or
8 presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.
9 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the
10 trial judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial.
11
12 4. DURATION
13 Once a case proceeds to trial, information that was designated as
14 CONFIDENTIAL or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – Attorneys’ Eyes Only” or
15 maintained pursuant to this protective order used or introduced as an exhibit at trial
16 becomes public and will be presumptively available to all members of the public,
17 unless compelling reasons supported by specific factual findings to proceed
18 otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance of the trial. See Kamakana, 447
19 F.3d at 1180-81 (distinguishing “good cause” showing for sealing documents
20 produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” standard when merits-related
21 documents are part of court record). Accordingly, the terms of this protective
22 order do not extend beyond the commencement of the trial.
23
24 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
25 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection.
26 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under
27 this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that
28 qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate
1 for protection only those parts of material, documents, items or oral or written
2 communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, documents,
3 items or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept
4 unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order.
5 Mass, indiscriminate or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations
6 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper
7 purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to
8 impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the
9 Designating Party to sanctions.
10 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it
11 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must
12 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation.
13 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in
14 this Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise
15 stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection
16 under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or
17 produced.
18 Designation in conformity with this Order requires:
19 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic
20 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial
21 proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend
22 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – Attorneys’ Eyes Only”
23 (hereinafter “Legend”), to each page that contains protected material. If only a
24 portion of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also
25 must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate
26 markings in the margins).
27 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection
28 need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated
1 which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and
2 before the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be
3 deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the
4 documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine
5 which documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order.
6 Then, before producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix
7 the Legend to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a portion of the
8 material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly
9 identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the
10 margins).
11 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party identifies
12 the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the
13 deposition all protected testimony.
14 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and for
15 any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the
16 exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the legend
17 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – Attorneys’ Eyes Only.” If
18 only a portion or portions of the information warrants protection, the Producing
19 Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected portion(s).
20 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent
21 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive
22 the Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such
23 material. Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make
24 reasonable efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the
25 provisions of this Order.
26
27 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
28 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a
1 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s
2 Scheduling Order.
3 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute
4 resolution process under Local Rule 37.1 et seq.
5 6.3 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be
6 on the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper
7 purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other
8 parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating
9 Party has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall
10 continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is
11 entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the
12 challenge.
13
14 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
15 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that
16 is disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this
17 Action only for prosecuting, defending or attempting to settle this Action. Such
18 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under
19 the conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a
20 Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL
21 DISPOSITION).
22 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a
23 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons
24 authorized under this Order.
25 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless
26 otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a
27 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated
28 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:
1 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as well
2 as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably
3 necessary to disclose the information for this Action;
4 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of the
5 Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action;
6 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom
7 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the
8 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
9 (d) the court and its personnel;
10 (e) court reporters and their staff;
11 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional
12 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have
13 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
14 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a
15 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;
16 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in the
17 Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing
18 party requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and (2)
19 they will not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the
20 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise
21 agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed
22 deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may
23 be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone
24 except as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and
25 (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel,
26 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions.
27 7.3 Disclosure of “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – Attorneys’ Eyes Only”
28 Information or Items. Unless otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in
1 writing by the Designating Party, a Receiving Party may disclose any information
2 or item designated “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – Attorneys’ Eyes Only” only to:
3 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as well
4 as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably
5 necessary to disclose the information for this Action;
6 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of the
7 Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action;
8 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom
9 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the
10 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
11 (d) the court and its personnel;
12 (e) court reporters and their staff;
13 (f) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a
14 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;
15 (g) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel,
16 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions.
17
18 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED
19 IN OTHER LITIGATION
20 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation
21 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as
22 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – Attorneys’ Eyes Only” that
23 Party must:
24 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification shall
25 include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
26 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order to
27 issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena
28 or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy
1 of this Stipulated Protective Order; and
2 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued
3 by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected.
4 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served
5 with the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in
6 this action as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – Attorneys’
7 Eyes Only” before a determination by the court from which the subpoena or order
8 issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The
9 Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in that
10 court of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions should be
11 construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to
12 disobey a lawful directive from another court.
13
14 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE
15 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION
16 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a
17 Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY
18 CONFIDENTIAL – Attorneys’ Eyes Only.” Such information produced by Non-
19 Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the remedies and relief
20 provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be construed as
21 prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.
22 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to
23 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is
24 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s
25 confidential information, then the Party shall:
26 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-
27 Party that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality
28 agreement with a Non-Party;
1 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated
2 Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably
3 specific description of the information requested; and
4 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the
5 Non-Party, if requested.
6 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within 14
7 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party
8 may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery
9 request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall
10 not produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to the
11 confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the court.
12 Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and
13 expense of seeking protection in this court of its Protected Material.
14
15 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
16 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has
17 disclosed Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized
18 under this Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a)
19 notify in writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its
20 best efforts to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform
21 the person or persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms
22 of this Order, and (d) request such person or persons to execute the
23 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit
24 A.
25
26 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE
27 PROTECTED MATERIAL
28 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain
1 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other
2 protection, the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal
3 Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify
4 whatever procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for
5 production without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence
6 502(d) and (e), insofar as the parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure
7 of a communication or information covered by the attorney-client privilege or
8 work product protection, the parties may incorporate their agreement in the
9 stipulated protective order submitted to the court.
10
11 12. MISCELLANEOUS
12 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of
13 any person to seek its modification by the Court in the future.
14 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this
15 Protective Order, no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to
16 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in
17 this Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on
18 any ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective
19 Order.
20 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any
21 Protected Material must comply with Local Civil Rule 79-5. Protected Material
22 may only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the
23 specific Protected Material at issue. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material
24 under seal is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information
25 in the public record unless otherwise instructed by the court.
26
27 13. FINAL DISPOSITION
28 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 4, within
1 60 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must
2 return all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As
3 used in this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts,
4 compilations, summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the
5 Protected Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the
6 Receiving Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if
7 not the same person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that
8 (1) identifies (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was
9 returned or destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any
10 copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or
11 capturing any of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel
12 are entitled to retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial,
13 deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition
14 and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert
15 work product, even if such materials contain Protected Material. Any such
16 archival copies that contain or constitute Protected Material remain subject to this
17 Protective Order as set forth in Section 4 (DURATION).
18 //
19 //
20 //
21 //
22 //
23 //
24 //
25 //
26 //
27 //
28 //
1 ||/14. VIOLATION
2 Any violation of this Order may be punished by appropriate measures
3 |/including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions.
5 || IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.
7 || DATED: December 24, 2020
g || BUCHALTER
A Professional Corporation
10
11 ||/s/ Thomas C. Rickeman
ANDREW H. SELESNICK
12 || THOMAS C. RICKEMAN
Attorneys for Plaintiff
13 ||AVANGUARD SURGERY CENTER, LLC
a
DATED: December 24, 2020
15
16
= 4 GORDON REES SCULLY MANSUKHANI, LLP
2 17
18
/s/ Courtney C. Hill
19 || COURTNEY C. HILL
NORVIK AZARIAN
20 |! Attorneys for Defendant
CIGNA HEALTH AND LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY
22
33 FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.
24
35 DATED: December 28, 2020
16 || Rapeela a.
27 || HON. ROZELLA A. OLIVER
28 United States Magistrate Judge
NB
1 Filer’s Attestation: Pursuant to Local Rule 5-4.3.4(a)(2)(i) regarding signatures, I,
2 Courtney C. Hill, hereby attest that all other signatories listed concur in the
3 content of this document and have authorized its filing.
4
/s/Courtney C. Hill
5 Courtney C. Hill
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1 EXHIBIT A
2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND
3
4 I, _____________________________ [print or type full name], of
5 _________________ [print or type full address], declare under penalty of perjury
6 that I have read in its entirety and understand the Stipulated Protective Order that
7 was issued by the United States District Court for the Central District of California
8 on __________ in the case of Avanguard Surgery Center, LLC v. Cigna
9 Healthcare of California, Inc., et al., U.S.D.C. Case No. 2:20-cv-03405-ODW
10 (RAOx). I agree to comply with and to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated
11 Protective Order and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so comply could
12 expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly
13 promise that I will not disclose in any manner any information or item that is
14 subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person or entity except in strict
15 compliance with the provisions of this Order. I further agree to submit to the
16 jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the Central District of California
17 for enforcing the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order, even if such
18 enforcement proceedings occur after termination of this action. I hereby appoint
19 __________________________ [print or type full name] of _________________
20 [print or type full address and telephone number] as my California agent for
21 service of process in connection with this action or any proceedings related to
22 enforcement of this Stipulated Protective Order.
23 Date: ______________________________________
24 City and State where sworn and signed: _________________________________
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26 Printed name: _______________________________
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28 Signature: __________________________________